The July issue of our Bond Fund Intelligence, which was sent to subscribers Wednesday a.m., features the articles, "Worldwide BF Assets Jump to $16.9 Tril., Led by US & Brazil," which reviews the latest global bond fund statistics from ICI; and "PIMCO's Schneider on Ultra-Shorts, ETFs at Symposium," which highlights a panel from our recent Money Fund Symposium conference in Jersey City. BFI also recaps the latest Bond Fund News and includes our Crane BFI Indexes, which show that bond fund returns inched higher in June while yields were flat. We excerpt from the new issue below. (Contact us if you'd like to see our latest Bond Fund Intelligence and BFI XLS spreadsheet, or our Bond Fund Portfolio Holdings data.)
BFI's lead article states, "Bond fund assets worldwide increased in the latest quarter to $16.94 trillion, led higher by the five largest bond fund markets - the U.S., Luxembourg, China, Ireland and Brazil. We review the ICI's 'Worldwide Regulated Open-End Fund Assets and Flows, First Quarter 2026' release and statistics below."
It continues, "ICI says, 'Worldwide regulated open-end fund assets, excluding funds of funds, decreased 0.8% to $87.23 trillion at the end of the first quarter of 2026.... The Investment Company Institute compiles worldwide regulated open-end fund statistics on behalf of the International Investment Funds Association (IIFA).'"
Our "PIMCO's Schneider" article states, "Crane Data hosted its big Money Fund Symposium conference in Jersey City recently, where over 740 money market professionals discussed rates, tokenization, record asset levels and a number of other hot topics in cash. Below, we quote from the session, 'Money Market & Ultra-Short ETFs,' which featured Bob Cousart of BlackRock, Jon-Luc Dupuy of K&L Gates, and Jerome Schneider of PIMCO.' (Note: See our 'Money Fund Symposium 2026 Download Center' for more.)"
It continues, "Cousart says, 'So, unlike short-duration ETFs, money market ETFs adhere to the strict regulatory guidelines of 2a-7, capital preservation and liquidity. So having that little '2a-7' stamp, that does mean something for certain investors who want to have that sense of safety.... Money market ETFs really round out that broad spectrum of fixed income ETFs, serving as a kind of a bookend for the whole broad spectrum.'"
Our first News brief, "Returns Inch Higher, Yields Flat in June," states, "Bond fund returns were slightly higher again in June while yields were flat. Our BFI Total Index rose 0.32% over 1-month and rose 4.87% over 12 months. (Money funds rose 3.77% over 1-year as measured by our Crane 100 Index.) The BFI 100 increased 0.24% in June and rose 4.47% over 12 mos. Our BFI Conservative Ultra-Short Index was up 0.26% over 1-month and 4.18% for 1-year; Ultra-Shorts rose 0.26% and 4.19%. Short-Term rose 0.11% and 3.74%, and Intm-Term increased 0.21% in June and rose 4.35% over 12 mos. BFI's Long-Term Index was up 0.31% and 4.27%. High Yield rose 0.26% in June and 5.71% over 12 mos."
A second News brief, "ETF.com Says 'SGOV Nears $100 Billion.' The brief tells us, 'The iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV) is closing in on $100 billion in assets, a level no ultra-short-term bond ETF has reached. The fund holds $97.9 billion after pulling in $28.9 billion ... this year, making it the largest fund in its category and the third-largest ... fixed-income ETF, behind the $160 billion Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and the $139 billion iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG).'"
Our third brief says, "'Fidelity Investments to Launch its First ETF Share Classes,' says a press release. It tells us, 'Fidelity Investments ... announced the upcoming launch of its first ETF share classes, Fidelity Intermediate Municipal Income ETF (FIMU), Fidelity Real Estate Income ETF (FREI), and Fidelity Short-Term Bond ETF (FSTB). The ETF share classes will be added to existing mutual fund strategies.'"
A BFI sidebar, "DoubleLine's Sherman," states, "A Barron's piece, 'This Bond Maven Is Worried About 'Excesses' in the Market. How He's Investing,' interviews DoubleLine Deputy CIO Jeffrey Sherman. It says, 'Sherman, a member of DoubleLine's fixed-income and global asset allocation committees, is managing portfolios that aim to earn extra yield over Treasuries without taking on too much risk. Barron's spoke with him on June 23 about his strategies: diversifying across fixed-income asset classes including mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities, and largely avoiding higher-risk and longer-term bonds.'"
Finally, another sidebar, "JPM Short Duration Update," states, "A recent J.P. Morgan 'Short Duration Update' tells us, 'Low-duration bond funds have witnessed a strong start to the year, with AUMs increasing by about $55bn through May - a 6% gain that has lifted total balances to $986bn. Year-to-date inflows are running modestly ahead of last year's pace ($49bn) and much stronger than in 2024 ($2bn). After a brief pause in March, when flows were essentially flat, investor demand has accelerated meaningfully. Low-duration bond funds attracted roughly $7bn of inflows in April, followed by an even stronger $17bn in May - the largest monthly increase of the year and the strongest monthly inflow since August 2025.'"
